Latch mechanism for garage-doors



W.,G. WINANS. kLATCH MEcHANlsM ron GARAGE DooRs.

APPUGATION FILED JUNE 4. 1920.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

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LATCH MECHANISM FOR GARAGE DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE 4. 1920.

1,388,229. y PandAug. 23,1921.

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v f Figurel is a fragmentary interior view ofthe upper portion of a garage door andk UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WESLEY G. WINANS, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 FREDERICK KNOWLSON,

y 0F ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN. j

LATCH MECHANISM FOR GARAGE-DOORS.

Application led June 4, 1920.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WESLEY G. VINANS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latch Mechanism for Garage-Doors, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to latch mechanism for garage doors, and more particularly to a mechanism for holding the doors of garages or the like in open position.

It is the object of the invention to provide a yieldable latch mechanism which will act in a predetermined open position of the door to resist movement thereof in order to prevent the door being shut by wind or being otherwise accidentally closed, said mechanism however, being automatically releasable when the door is subjected to a sharp pull, so that the door may be closed, when desired, without diiculty.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the described character that may be adjusted to alternatively function as an adjustable stop to limit opening of the door beyond a predetermined position.

In-the drawings:

its frame, equipped with the herein described latch mechanism, the closed vposition of the door being shown;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking upward, showing in full lines the closed position of the door and corresponding position of the latch mechanism, and showing in dash lines the latch mechanism maintaining the door l further modification.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6, looking upward.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail of the latch spring taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but showing the door partly opened and retained Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

Serial No. 386,471.

against closing by an adjustment of the structure shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, adapting same to function as a sto In these views, the re erence character 1 designates a swinging door, as for example the door of a garage, the same being hinged as indicated at 2 to the door frame 3. Upon said frame interiorly thereof a block 4 is mounted above the door opening and provides a support for a bracket 6, comprising a horizontally arranged cylindrical latch head depending by means of a reduced neck 7 from a supporting plate 8 attached to said block. Between the latch head 6 and plate 8, there is adapted to slide a bar 9 longitudinally slotted as indicated at 10 for engagement with the neck 7. One end of said bar is pivoted as indicated at 11 upon an angular bracket 12, interiorly secured to the top portion of the door 1, and at its other endsaid bar rigidly carries a latch member comprised by a spring plate 13, bolted as indicated at 14, to the end of the bar and projecting toward the latch head 6 beneath said bar in a slightly divergent relation thereto. The free end Vof the latch plate 13 is curved slightly downward adapting it to ride over the latch head 6 as the door approaches its wide open position, indicated at dash lines in Fig. 2. Intermediate the curved end 15, and its attachment point 14, the latch member 13 is formed with asemicylindrical offset 16. As the door approaches its opened position and the latch member 13 engages the latch head 6, said member is deflected downwardly by the latch head until the latter registers with the offset 16, whereupon the latch member springs upwardly to embrace the latch head in the recess formed by said offset. The engagement thus established, is sufliciently firm to resist closing of the door 1 by a gust of wind or similar strain, but when a sharp pull is exerted upon the door, the latch member 13 will yield downwardly to release the latch head and permit closing of the door. Preferably the bolt 14 securing the latch plate 13 to the bar 9 is engaged in a slot 17 longitudinally extended in said bar, so that the latch plate may be adjusted to some extent longitudinally of the bar to vary the predetermined position in which latching of the door is effected.

The outer end of the latch plate 13 has a downwardly bent tongue 18, stamped therefrom, which tongue when said plate is reversed upon the bar, as is illustrated in Fig. 3, engages in the slot 10 and forms a stop adapted to limit opening movement of the door by engagement With the latch head 6. As is seen in Fig. 3, when the member 13 is thus employed to form a stop, the bolt 14 attaching said member to the bar 9 is engaged in the slot 10 of said bar so as to allow a large range of adjustment of said member 13 longitudinally of the bar.

In the further modification of the device which is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, Q3 designates a slotted bar similar to the bar 9 and similarly attached to the door 1. The slot 28" of said bar however, in this instance, engages the shank of pin depending from a supporting plate 2G, mounted. either directly or indirectly upon the frame of the door,A and beneath the free end portion of the bar 23 there is secured a latchplate 27,

by means of a bolt 28 Which passes through a longitudinal slot 29 in said latch plate to permit adjustment thereof longitudinal of the bar 23. The inner end of the latch plate 27 is downwardly curved to adapt it to ride over the head of the pin 25 as the door 1 V approaches its predetermined fixed open position, and an opening 30 is intermediately formed in the latch plate, which `When registered With the pin 25, permits said plate to spring upward and engage the head ofsaid pin in said opening. Thus, the door is held in its predetermined position against accidental movement, but is released When subn jected to a sharp pull,'the head of the pin 25 being rounded to ride out of the opening 30, under such conditions.

As in the first described form of the invention,`a depending tongue'SQ is stamped from the outer end Aportion of the spring plate 27, and is engageable upon` a reversal of said plate upon the bar 23 in the slot 23a of. said bar, to form a stop adapted to encounter the pin 25 and limit opening of the door. i v

It is to be noted that in each of the described forms of the invention, the locking bar, variously designated as 9, 19 and 23 is both slidably and pivotally engaged VWith the `door frame by a singlemembcr, vsaid member in the first case comprising the parts 6, .7 and 8, in the second case being the bracket 2O and in the third case being formed by the headed pin 25. A further feature of the invention lies in deriving the additional function of a latch head from this member which forms a slide guide and pivotal mounting for thelocking bar.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A door latch mechanism comprising a bar pivotally connected to a door, means carried by the door frame forming a slide Y i guide and pivotal mounting for said bar during movement of the door, `a latch head upon the frame and a member carried by said bar, adjustable to form in one position a latch member A yieldably engaging said latch head in a predetermined position of the'door to yieldably maintain said position and forming in another position of adjustmentva stop limiting the opening movement of the door.

2. A door latch mechanism comprising a bar pivotally connected to a door, a combined slide guide and pivotal mounting for said bar carried by the door frame, a latch head carried by the last named member and a leaf spring latch member reversibly mounted upon said bar formed with an oiiset engageable with said latch head in one position of said member to yieldably maintain a predetermined opened position of the door andhaving. a struck out tongue engageable with the latch head in a reverse position of said spring member to limit opening of the door.

3. A door latch mechanism comprising aY bar pivotally connected to a door, afmember forming a combined slide guide and pivotal mounting for said bar carried by the door frame, and an adjustable member establishing a yieldable latch engagement between said bar and said member in a predetermined opened position of the door, to yieldably maintain said position. Y

4. A door latch mechanism comprising a bar pivotally connected to a door, means carried by the door frame forming a Yslide guide, and pivotalA mounting for said bar during movement of the door, a latch head upon the frame, and a member carried by said door adjustable end for end to form, in

one position, a latch member yieldably engaging said latchvhead inra predetermined position of the door to yieldably maintain said position, .and forming in another position of adjustment 'a stop limiting the opening movement of the door.

5. A doer latch mechanism comprising a bar pivotally connected to a door, means carried by the door frame forming a slide guide and pivotal mounting for said bar during movement of the door, a latch head upon the frame, and a member carried by said bar reversibly andV longitudinally adjustable thereof adapted to form in one position a latch member yieldably engaging said adjustment a stop limiting the opening movement of the door.V

In testimony whereof I Valiiir my signature.

WESLEY G. WINANS.

'latch head in a predetermined position 

